Skip to content

Teravainen’s 3 points lift Hurricanes to 5-2 win over Canucks

Vancouver heads into all-star break on losing note
15265909_web1_190123-IFD-Canucks-Canes2
Carolina Hurricanes right wing Justin Williams (14) looks on as Vancouver Canucks defenceman Christopher Tanev (8) fights for control of the puck with Carolina Hurricanes right wing Nino Niederreiter (21) during first period NHL action in Vancouver, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VANCOUVER — Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and a pair of assists on Wednesday, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.

The loss snaps a five-game point streak for the Canucks (23-22-6).

Nino Niederreiter had a pair of goals for the Hurricanes (24-20-6), and his teammates Greg McKegg and Dougie Hamilton also found the back of the net.

Josh Leivo and Sven Baertschi scored for Vancouver, and Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 29-of-34 shots.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the Hurricanes in his first NHL start.

The 23-year-old netminder has been playing for the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, posting a 20-5-2 record this season. He was called up earlier this month when Curtis McElhinney suffered a lower-body injury.

Nedeljkovic’s first real test of the night came early in the second period after Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson made a no-look pass to Baertschi in front of the Hurricanes net.

Baertschi took the shot but Nedeljkovic was there to gobble up the puck.

Carolina opened the scoring 1:54 into the second frame with a power-play goal after Vancouver’s Loui Eriksson was called for tripping.

Markstrom stopped a shot from Teravainen but couldn’t corral the rebound and popped out to Niederreiter, who put it into the empty side of the net.

Vancouver responded just over a minute later with Troy Stecher getting a high pass to Leivo in front of the net. The left-winger flicked it in for his ninth goal of the year.

The Canucks went up by one after some stunning stick-handling by Pettersson.

The 20-year-old centre started with a behind-the-back pass to Boeser, who got the puck back to him down in front of the ‘Canes net. Instead of shooting, Pettersson sliced a pass to Baertschi.

The left-winger tipped it in through a hole on Nedeljkovic’s blocker side.

Less than two minutes later, McKegg tied things up, beating Markstrom with a rocket of a one-timer.

The Hurricanes added three more unanswered goals before the end of the period.

RELATED: Pettersson returns to lead Canucks to 3-2 win over Red Wings

Emotions ran hot in the third frame, with two Canucks being ejected from the game.

Fists started flying 6:30 into the period after Vancouver’s Antoine Roussel took an elbow to the face.

The fiery Frenchman pushed through officials to go after Niederreiter. He was handed minor penalties for cross-checking and unsportsmanlike conduct, plus a 10-minute misconduct.

The call was met with chants of “ref you suck!” from the Vancouver crowd.

Erik Gudbranson joined Roussel in the Canucks dressing room about 10 minutes later.

The defenceman tried to drop the gloves with Andrei Svechnikov after the Carolina right-winger threw him into the boards. The move sparked a melee in front of the Hurricanes net, and Gudbranson was handed a double-minor for roughing, plus a 10-minute misconduct.

Carolina’s victory caps a three-game road swing that saw the Hurricanes take five points from Canadian teams.

Both the Canucks and Hurricanes are now off for the All-Star break followed with a bye week.

The Hurricanes will be back in action on Feb. 1 when they host the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canucks return on Feb. 2, kicking off a four-game road trip in Colorado against the Avalanche.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter